Rep. Ron Paul Calls Obama a Corporatist, Not a Socialist

Ron Paul corrected the GOP this weekend about their branding of President Obama. (AP Photo - 2007)

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) spoke to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference this weekend in New Orleans.

In his speech, he spoke out against GOP members who call President Obama a socialist. He says that our president is more of a corporatist. In simple terms, a corporatist is someone who puts the needs of corporations first, then the corporations run the country.

He gave an example of the healthcare bill as showcasing Obama’s corporatism. The bill really does keep the bulk of healthcare power in the hands of insurance companies, especially with the 2014 mandate that everyone have health insurance. I honestly can’t argue with him about that because I would have rather seen a strong public option or a single-payer system myself. But hey, we can’t have all of what we want all the time…

Paul also got in the GOP’s ass a bit noting that some of them are corporatists as well. I mean, how could he speak to that group and NOT say they belong in that category? Lol.. He noted the financial and military systems in this country as areas where it’s happening. Again, he is telling the truth here! We have watched the GOP enrich companies left and right while they were in power, only to leave the middle class to drown. Enron, Halliburton, or Blackwater, anyone?

Ron has been keepin’ it real for quite a while in government. He used to be a presidential candidate in 1988 and 2008. Particularly with the latter campaign, Paul had strong grassroots support from organizers and the Internet. He opposed the war in Iraq and is a staunch fiscal conservative. He has a blend of some standard GOP principles, but he really bucks the trend on key issues within the party.

In the presidential straw poll conducted at this weekend’s conference, Mitt Romney only narrowly beat out Ron Paul. Paul’s alliances with the Tea Party and popularity from past elections are playing in his favor.